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Truck cap camping is perfect for me

Truck cap camping is perfect for the type of camping I prefer to do on the back roads 🏞 where I like to travel and camp.

I like to camp in quiet isolated areas where I can listen to music,🎶🎚 shoot guns 🔫 and fireworks🎆, have a big fire, burn whatever I want 🔥 without bothering others. Yet such sites are not always accessible with more than a truck.🚚

Maybe when I get older I’ll want something more like an truck camper but I have my doubts as I’m not big into fancy soft things.🛋 I prefer things that are easier to clean off the mud on and spending my time actually outdoors in the elements.🏕

Covered up Big Red

I figured this snow isn't going to be real icy so make it easy for cleaning off the snow from the cap come tomorrow so I can have solar panel cranking out a trickle charge when the sun comes back out.

Taken on Wednesday December 16, 2020 at Big Red.

35 Degrees and Rain Under the Truck Cap

People sometimes ask what it’s like to camp under the truck cap in the rain. They ask if it’s dry and warm. The truth is it’s fairly dry, moderately warm, but certainly not hot or completely dry. It’s best to describe it as cool and damp.

The fiberglass truck cap does keep the bulk of the rain out. But the past two truck caps I’ve owned both leak a little bit around the windows. Not a lot, but in heavy rain, there trends to be an occassional drip drop. Building your bed up, using a stack of sleeping pads and mats helps, but it’s still kind of damp.

A bigger issue is the humidity under the truck cap. When the windows are closed in the truck cap, there is still air ventilation in and around the bed of the truck. Not a lot, but still enough to ensure there is some fresh air. But because the ventilation is low, and not up at the top of the truck cap, moisture tends to accumulate at the top of the truck cap, from the heat of one’s body and even just the moisture one breathes into the air.

Is it drier then a tent? It depends, a lot on how the tent is set up, how well it’s waterproofed, and the drainage of the tent. The truck bed is always up high, so you don’t have to worry about flooding. The truck cap is naturally waterproof, even if you do get an occasional drip-drop around the windows.

If you don’t dress properly and try to keep your bedding out of the damp parts under the truck cap, it can be problematic. It could lead to hypothermia, because it’s chilly and damp back here. But if it gets too cold out, once can always hop in the cab of the truck, crank the heat, and get warm and dried out that way.

Why I prefer truck cap camping

Truck cap camping is perfect for the type of camping I prefer to do on the back roads where I like to travel and camp.

I like to camp in quiet isolated areas where I can listen to music, shoot guns and fireworks, have a big fire without bothering others. Yet such sites are not always accessible with anything bigger then a pickup truck.

Maybe when I get older I’ll want something more like an truck camper but I have my doubts as I’m not big into fancy soft things. I also don’t like the higher clearance or extra weight in the bed. I prefer things that are easier to clean off the mud on and spending my time actually outdoors in the elements.

First Big Camping Trip of the Year, A Look Back

Every year, I usually kick off the camping season with a big road trip somewhere. Here are some of the trips I’ve done in years past:

2016: Finger Lakes National Forest

April 2016 was a relatively cold month after a relatively warm winter. The first night I camped at Stony Pond in Nelson. It got down to 15 degrees.

I visited the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge then camped off of Chicken Coop Road at the Finger Lakes National Forest.

Rather cold weather up on Hector Backbone, so I strung up tarps to block the wind and built big campfires.

Rather gray as things hadn’t really greened up yet.

But in lower elevations, especially along Cayuga Lake, things where starting to bud up, like as seen with this picture of Taughannock State Park.

2015: Balsam Pond, Long Pond and Chenango County

Rained a bit during the day but camping was great Balsam Pond.

Beautiful sunrise on Balsam Pond.

Nice afternoon fishing on Whitney Point Reservior, but I didn’t get many bites.

2014: East Branch of Sacanadaga River

In 2014, I camped on the East Branch of Sacandaga River. It was a pretty night.

I used my solar panel a bit under the sunny skies to keep the accessory battery charged.

2013: Balsam Pond, Long Pond and Chenango County

In many ways my 2013 trip was similiar to my 2015 trip. I camped at Long Pond, which was very much so still frozen this year.

Hiked up the Berry Hill Firetower.

Visited Rogers Environmental Education Center.

2012: Crane Mountain and Harrisburg NY

Hike both Crane Mountain and Hadley Mountain and camped off of Harrisburg Road in the Adirondacks.

My truck didn’t have a cap then, so I camped in a tent.

It was fun camping in my then new truck.

Looking Back I Have Some Regrets About by 2017 Road Trip to West Viriginia

One year out, here’s what I regret about my 2017 trip to West Virginia.

I regret not spending enough time in the more southerly portion of the Monongahela National Forest, maybe driving down further south to see some of the coal mining towns and learn more about that part of the state. I did visit Corridor “H” and the Mount Storm Power Plant and saw some of the coal mining operations there, but I would have liked to see more.

I would have liked to visit some more of the impoverished parts of state — although I guess Thomas and Davis, WV aren’t exactly wealthy nor are the communities I’ve driven through in Sweedlin Valley and Morefield. But I guess growing up in rural, essentially Appalachia, near Greene County, New York I wouldn’t have noticed that.

I also think I made a mistake not to drive up Spruce Mountain, the tallest in the state. There were some really nice views from the top of the mountain state. I liked camping on the Gandy Run in 2015, and driving that back road through the forest, but that got missed this year. And there is so much of the Monongahela National Forest that I haven’t seen.

I did enjoy my drive the Blue Ridge Parkway northbound from Otter Peaks. But honestly, I think much of Virginia is a tourist trap, and I don’t know if I want to deal with the traffic or developed campgrounds the next time I take this big autumn trip. I prefer the wild country where there aren’t people out there checking to see if you paid your tribute for the tiny little campsite crammed against otheres.

I think I want to camp at Dolly Sods next time I come to West Virginia. Not the developed campground on the summit but maybe the road along the way up there. It’s a short drive or a longer walk up to the top to watch the sun set or rise. And then maybe do some of the hiking trails in the wilderness.

I also think the night I spent at Ohiopyle was a waste. But at least I know what the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania are like. Ohiopyle, with the natural peninsula is kind of interesting and the water falls are neat. But the campground is tightly packed, enforcement is aggressive (hide your beer!), and $26 a night seems steep even with taking a hot shower both before bed and getting up. Ohiopyle wasn’t as wild as I expected. Too much of a tourist trap downtown. The farms and the landscape of the Laurel Highlands could easily be much of Upstate New York or Pennsylvania.

I hate losing two days in both directions going up through Pennsylvania and Maryland to get to and from West Virginia, but I’m really unwilling to make the trip in one day. I don’t like driving more then 4 hours a day total, not including stops and parks. Anything more then that gets tiring for me and means I’m rushing to get camp set before darkness sets in early.

I probably won’t be back to West Virginia until October 2019. But I have some ideas what I will do differently — spend the bulk of the week in West Virginia, exclusive of the weekends for travel. There is much of West Virginia I would like to explore — and I could definitely pass on all the commotion and craziness of Virginia.

Tried To Keep Wires As Neat As Possible

8 gauge wire with a 60 amp fuse now brings power back to the truck cap. While right now I only have a 20-amp load, I wanted to have options to add additional accessories in the truck cap, and have as little line drop as possible in my truck cap.

Taken on Sunday April 16, 2017 at Big Red.

Andy Arthur.org

Search Results for: photo the cap from the back